Grab your flashlights and bicycles: The trailer for the Stranger Things series finale is here, and it’s an electrifying sneak peek at what’s to come for Hawkins. 

As our heroes gear up for their final battle against Vecna, Hopper (David Harbour) rallies Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) with a rousing speech that reminds her exactly what she’s capable of. “Life has been so unfair to you,” he says. “Your childhood was taken from you, you’ve been attacked, manipulated by terrible people, but you never let it break you.” 

Eleven’s surrogate father tells her that she’s fighting for “a world beyond Hawkins” and “the days on the other side of this.” Elsewhere in the trailer, we see snippets of what’s on deck, from a shocked Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) looking up at the flashing red sky to Vecna’s clawed hand emerging from the body of Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower). “Let’s end this, kid,” Hopper concludes. 

Expect plenty of action to unfurl over The Finale’s 125-minute conclusion. Co-creator Matt Duffer tells Tudum that the Hawkins gang are navigating a “complex plan” to save their town. They’ll have to climb into the Abyss to find Vecna’s kidnapped children by merging the two worlds together. Oh yeah, and plant a bomb to wipe out the Abyss, the Mind Flayer, and all of Vecna’s monsters. 

“We were able in Episode 7 to sort of lay it all out before we hit it into the finale,” Duffer says. “By the time you get to Episode 8, we don’t have to spend any time talking. We’re able to jump right into it.” 

Heading into the last episode, a “sense of dread or uncertainty … pervades,” co-creator Ross Duffer says. “There’s a look and a moment between [Eleven] and Kali [Linnea Berthelsen] where it seems as though Eleven has agreed to Kali’s plan to stay in the Upside Down when it explodes. So, even if they are to succeed, there’s a big question mark in terms of what’s going to happen to Eleven.” 

While we wait for the supersized final chapter to arrive, make sure you fully understand the Upside Down, read up on how Noah Schnapp approached Will’s moving coming-out speech, and learn how Cara Buono (aka Karen Wheeler) filmed her triumphant Demogorgon takedown. 

And don’t forget: The Finale will have limited fan screenings in more than 500 theaters across the US and Canada! Visit ST5Finale.com for the full list of locations.

The first seven episodes of Stranger Things 5 are streaming now on Netflix, followed by The Finale
on New Year’s Eve at 5 p.m. Find out when the final episode arrives in your part of the world here. And test your knowledge of Stranger Things with our superfan quiz.